My Coma
by cdawn1022
Summary: JD takes a tumble and Dr. Cox is a little slow to respond. When JD wakes up, Perry is shocked to learn he remembers nothing of the past five years; he thinks he's still an intern. He tries to nurse JD back to health, and restore his memories of their two years together. Established JDox, Cox POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello world! This is my first Scrubs fic, I just adore JDox. Story may later feature deliciously unrealistic amnesia. Just a warning. Constructive criticism is more than welcome.**

**FYI, in this 'verse, Jordan and Perry got divorced in 4.03 and JD and Cox got together soon afterwards.**

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I should've known something was wrong when the janitor came in carrying Newbie over his shoulder, but I hardly noticed. I mean, it's not exactly rare for him to get a little beat up because of something the janitor did. If I'd looked a little closer, noticed JD wasn't kicking or screaming or, well, doing anything but bleeding, if I hadn't gone right back to my paperwork after directing the janitor to an empty room on the other side of the hallway, if I'd gauged the speed at which the man was going compared to his usual saunter, if I'd seen right away that the guy's face looked concerned and guilty instead of smug… maybe I could've done something. Maybe.

The janitor came out of the room, his hands at his sides, and stopped in front of me. He watched Carla and a few others rush across the hall and then stared at me confusedly.

"Don't you have a floor to clean?" I growled as I closed the folder I was working in. My day so far had already been a sorry excuse for six hours on Earth, and now I'd have to nurse Newbie back to health. In past experience, this involved copious amounts of chicken noodle soup and Gilmore Girls. To make matters worse, I was beginning to hear serious, somewhat frantic voices and beeping from what sounded like a few rooms down. I straightened my stethoscope and turned around to see who was in need of my expertise, only to find a bunch of interns gathered behind me, looking terrified. Newbie's interns. I glanced behind me. The janitor was gone.

"What?" I snapped at the herd. One of them pushed Keith out of the crowd and he stumbled a few feet forward.

"A-aren't you going to see Dr. Dorian? S-sir?" he stuttered. My eyes traveled slowly to the source of the increasing noise, and the pieces clicked into place.

Making a strongly-worded mental note to take care of the janitor when Newbie was better (because of course he'll get better he's going to be fine just fine), I ran through the door only to freeze moments later. I saw everything in the room separately, one at a time, somehow making sense of the chaos in the room.

One. Blood all over him. His head, his arms, everywhere.

Two. Laverne pushing a panicked Carla out of the way because she was crying too much to do anything.

Three. A few interns I didn't recognize, with that familiar "I'm nervous as hell but I don't have time for that" face.

Four. A strangely level-headed Barbie restarting JD's heart.

And for the first time since my internship, I couldn't move.

I watched weakly as the heart monitor readings went back up to normal - well, maybe not normal, but alive. Barbie took a deep breath and swallowed, seeing me in the room for the first time.

"Dr. Cox," she breathed. "You're here. He's-he's okay. I have to go."

She brushed past me, shrugging Keith off when he met her at the door. Laverne scribbled something on a chart and handed it to me. I took it robotically, trying like hell to take my eyes off Carla sniffling and bandaging his head. She stared up at me.

"Turk's in surgery. He'll be here soon." I tore my gaze from JD and nodded slowly at Carla. "It's, uh, still sketchy," she whispered, obviously biting back a sob. Any other time I would have moved to at least try to comfort her, but my brain was on autopilot; I sunk into the chair beside Newbie's bed. Carla glanced worriedly at Laverne, and Laverne looked as worried as I think it was possible for her to look. I took a deep breath and buried my head into the mattress when they left.

"Newbie," I muttered. "There's a lot of theory out there, that people can hear things in their subconscious when they're knocked out. You know very well I think it's bullshit, but I guess I'll give it a shot. If you wake up, I swear to God I'll buy you a Gilmore Girls box set. The entire goddamn series. I'll get you a dog, a real dog, because Gandhi took Rowdy back and for some reason you were extre-he-hemely attatched to it. Damn it, I'll let you call me your boyfriend in public. Just don't you dare die on me, kid."


	2. Chapter 2

**SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY I am so sorry! Work and the holidays just drove my creative juices insane and I couldn't make myself write. I promise I'll update more regularly. As an apology, this chapter is… I believe almost three times longer, if I'm not mistaken. Math is not my strongest point. As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome.**

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"Hey, princess."

Gandhi shot me a glare as I walked into the hospital room with fresh flowers. "Why do you insist on calling him girls' names after almost two years together?" he grumbled.

"Wasn't talking to Newbie, Miss Touchy," I smirked. I threw the old wilted flowers in the trash and arranged the new ones in a way I knew JD would like. As if perfectly arranged roses could yank him out of unconsciousness, I snorted quietly. Only three days without his incessant babble and apparently my brain was covering the shortage of useless daydreams. I moved to the foot of the bed and picked up his chart.

"Could have some memory loss," I murmured. "Not getting any worse, though. Should be up and irritating us again in no time." I glanced at the surgeon, who didn't seem to hear me. "Gandhi," I snapped. "He'll be fine."

He shook his head. "How can you be so sure? He hasn't moved for three days. What if something's wrong with him? He could have amnesia, or nerve damage… how the hell can you stand there like that?" His pager beeped; he nodded at me and left.

Good thing I was off for the day. I sank down into the chair next to JD's bed, picked up the TV remote, and turned on Days of our Lives. I'd found it to be useful in drowning out Carla and Barbie's concerned chatter, crap about if I was okay, if Newbie's coma was killing me from the inside out, yada yada yada. And as if on cue, they wandered in with their arms crossed to destroy my moment of peace.

"Can't you see I'm spending quality time with my a-boyfriend?" I glared at them, holding up Newbie's lifeless hand. "Aaand you've also interrupted my soap. That's two strikes, ladies."

Barbie shrank back slightly and pushed Carla forward. "Sorry, Dr. Cox. We just need to take Bambi in for another CT scan."

I groaned. "Fine. I'll just go home, I need to pick up Jack anyway…" Barbie shook her head.

"I called Jordan. She's keeping him for now. I told her you'd barely slept for four days and she said she didn't want you dropping him on his head while you were worried about your, uh, lover."

I gave her the most frightening expression I could muster, one that would have sent her crying to the supply closet in her early years. "Can't you keep your blonde head out of my… wait, what, four days?"

Carla smiled guiltily. "I know you had a triple shift the day before, Dr. Cox."

"All right, I'll go home and put my feet up. Maybe I'll take a bubble bath, ooh, and a cucumber face mask! I've been really meaning to repaint my toenails and catch up on Gilmore Girls anyway, thank you oh-so-much for the opportunity!" I really was not in the mood for trying to wrestle Jack out of Jordan's claws. That's why I just went home. Not because I was exhausted. I kissed JD on the forehead before I could stop myself (Good God, the kid really was rubbing off on me) and diverted my gaze from the janitor on the way out. It would be nice to get some real rest…

I woke up on the couch with a half-shaved face and spilled scotch on the coffee table. I groaned and flipped open the ringing cell phone. Not a number I recognized. I was greeted by a shrill voice that sounded terrified.

"Dr. Cox, it's Elliot, please don't hang up on me!"

"Barbie, how in the seven hells did you get this number?"

She carried on with her weepy little story as if she didn't hear. "I mean, I would've gotten Turk or Carla to call but Carla's really busy and Turk's with JD and they told me to call you, and I didn't know what to do-"

"Barbie. Get to the point or I come down there and pop that little plastic head off of your doll neck like all the dolls Jordan got for Jack."

"It's JD. He woke up. But he has memory loss, really bad. He thinks he's an intern. The past five years are apparently gone."

I yanked on my shoes and quickly shaved the other side of my face. "Fine, but is he okay otherwise?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He wants to see you, of course, but he told me not to tell you. Because, you know, he thinks he's an intern."

"Right." I felt, well, deflated, to use a favorite word of Newbie's. "Did you tell him anything, about anything?"

"We told him what year it is, a basic summary of what's happened, and he's still trying to wrap his head around it. We didn't want to spring anything else on him."

I locked the door and got in my Porsche. "Tell him I'm coming… heh, the kid's an intern. Tell him I'm coming to give him a hug."

Elliot laughed, said okay, and hung up.

I spent the entire drive to the hospital thinking of the best way to present myself, given the gap between his knowledge and my knowledge and oh God what if he completely flips out or Jesus Christ what if he's happy and then I'll know I wasted years dancing around him and ugh what to do what to do. Eventually I decided to be what he wanted. A bit of a hard-ass, but a mentor. And maybe explain things to him later. But nothing could have prepared me for seeing his big eyes looking up at me for the first time in what had to be closer to four days now.

"Dr. Cox, you came!" he exclaimed happily. "I guess I'm an attending, right? Like you!" Gandhi laughed and I shot him a glare for no particular reason. He shut up.

"'Course I came, kid," I said in an attempt to sound gruff. Instead, it came out desperate.

Yep, definitely rubbed off on me.

He sat up, looking a little confused, but his grin - God, a part of me thought I'd never see it again - never faltered. It crashed down on me. He was alive. I went in for a reassuring shoulder pat and ended up consuming him in a hug.

"D-Dr. Cox?" he asked, bewildered. I snapped back and pulled a pudding cup and spoon from my jacket pocket.

"I, uh, got you some pudding. Tapioca, right?" I asked awkwardly. Great job with the hard-ass with a heart of gold routine, Perry. Very well-executed.

JD took the pudding and spoon cautiously. "Yeah. Thanks, Dr. Cox."

Gandhi got up from his chair and clapped my back (Newbie's eyes bulged at the casual exchange). "I think Vanilla Bear needs some rest. We can talk later. And, uh, you can also ask Dr. Cox any questions you have about your memories."

I nodded. "Uh, yeah. Would you mind if I sat in here? Probably the only place they won't ask me to come in to work. Ignore me if you want."

Taking his nearly-exploding-from-happiness look as a yes, I plopped into the chair and closed my eyes.

"Thank you for coming, Dr. Cox. And for the, uh, hug." His voice was soft, almost like he was scared I was going to hit him.

I cracked an eyelid. "You're welcome, princess," I said, electing to use the same name as I had earlier. "Didn't you hear me before? Of course I came."


	3. Chapter 3

**I really don't have much to say - just enjoy chapter 3!**

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Snoring. Who the hell was snoring?

Oh. Me.

I yawned and stretched my back. Still in the hospital. That chair could not be good for my back. I looked up at JD, who was still sleeping. Not mumbling little nonsensical phrases like he usually did, though. Just his wheezy little almost-snore - which, if it came right down to it, made me feel a little better. I carefully checked his vitals out of habit. He'd always been a pretty heavy sleeper, at least in my experience, so I didn't have much trouble. Satisfied for the moment, but still wondering why nobody tried to kick me out after visiting hours, I went downstairs to get a coffee.

The janitor was waiting for me holding what appeared to be a steaming cup of my usual. He held it out to me, grinning. Some kind of peace offering? I crossed my arms and squinted at him.

"Exactly what the hell are you trying to do, Jumpsuit?" Reevaluating, I grabbed the coffee and started on my return route. No need to waste my time.

"Hey - come on!" he called after me. He eventually matched my pace. "It wasn't supposed to turn out like that. Bumps and bruises, maybe a broken bone, but head injuries are not my thing. And memory loss is just no fun. I save that for the rabbits. They get so confused…" He held up his hands like people do for shadow puppets, which were obviously supposed to be some demented representation of injured rabbits. I rolled my eyes, slapped his hands away, and began walking faster.

"Let me get this straight. You could've killed my- You could've killed Newbie. And then you buy me a freakin' _coffee?_ Yeah, I'm sure caffeine will bring back the past five years. You could've been a doctor."

I didn't bother with any more. Thankfully, I'd reached JD's room. I slammed the door behind me and took a sip of the coffee. Too hot.

"Dr. Cox?" a groggy JD asked from the bed. Great, you woke him up. Be a worse significant other, why don't you.

"Hey, J-Jamie," Nice save. "How's the head? Might feel a little odd, as there's no gel in it, but I think you'll survive."

"Fine. Hurts a little," he replied. "Why do you keep doing that? Acting like you're happy to see me but then it's like you change your mind."

I forced a laugh. "Imagination on point as always, Princess. Uh, I've got patients to take care of-"

"No, you don't. You talked to Carla yesterday, you said you were taking time off. Is it because I got hurt?" he asked hopefully.

I might have put on a big show about all the things I disliked less than him, but I didn't have the energy for five-years-ago-scary-mentor-Dr.-Cox. "No," I said simply. "Get some sleep."

"I just woke up," he complained, but he fluffed his pillow and closed his eyes obediently. I started on the morning newspaper, and Carla came in with Gandhi, who had their baby strapped to his back, about 20 minutes later.

I glared silently at them, and their eyes simultaneously passed over JD's sleeping form. I crossed the room to where they were standing in two long strides.

"I checked over everything," I hissed. "What do you want?"

"We, uh-" Gandhi glanced at Carla.

"We thought we should talk to JD more about his memories. He still doesn't know about Izzy, and you still need to tell him about… you know," Carla continued.

I took a moment just to look at her, to see if she would figure out the flaw in her plan all by herself. Ten seconds passed and she just looked at me confusedly. Oookay.

"See, there's a slight problem with _me_ telling him that," I said slowly in a high-pitched voice, as if I was speaking to a small child. "This is the man who called him by girls' names multiple times a day. This is the man who invited him into hugs only to pull away at the last second. Get the picture? I know he worshipped the ground I walked on - still does, as a matter of fact - but the point is _he would never believe me_. And that would just mean it'd take wa-ha-hay longer for things to get back to normal for him."

"Who's Izzy?" a suspiciously perky voice asked. "And what won't I believe?"

Carla took the baby off of Gandhi's back. "She's our baby, Bambi. She's just a few months old." She carried Izzy over to JD, who looked to be on the verge of tears.

"A baby," he whispered, taking her into his arms. I took the moment as an opportunity to get out - to plan how to tell him about our almost-two years together. I left the door cracked open and leaned against the wall. I was just about to grab another coffee when I heard JD speak an actual sentence, not just cooing at the infant.

"What were you and Dr. Cox talking about?"

I crossed my arms nervously. If they answered, the way they phrased their reply could change everything.

"You excited to go home soon? All you really need is to rest up and wait for your memories to come back..." Gandhi asked in an awkward attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah. Sure." JD answered flatly.

Carla sighed and whispered something unintelligible to her husband. "Well, you won't be coming back to our apartment… you're, uh, living with someone. Been with them for two years, moved in after six months."

"Elliot?" he asked hopefully. Damn that Barbie. I peered through the crack between the wall and the door - I could just barely see the three of them. Carla nudged Gandhi forward.

He laughed. "No, not Elliot. You're never gonna believe this, man. But you know how we promised we'd never lie if one of us got amnesia, unless it was a really bad ending to a TV show?"

Carla and I rolled our eyes, and JD nodded seriously.

"All right. Well, Vanilla Bear, you're kinda dating Dr. Cox."

JD's face morphed into shock, and stayed that way for a full minute. I was ready to rush in there, damn all logic, but he finally said something.

"I'm gay?" he asked neutrally.

Carla laughed. "Bisexual. At least that's what you told us."

"What happened to Jordan? Does he let me call him Perry? Did I bring Rowdy to his apartment? Is it weird because we work together?" His excitement grew with each question. Damn, the kid liked me more than I thought.

"Well, you could just ask him yourself. I think he's listening outside the door… Oh, there he is! He was peeking through the crack - I'll go get him-" Carla said.

"God damn it, Carla," I growled. "Can't I get a moment's peace to spy on you people?" I let her drag me into the room, but I wasn't prepared for JD looking at me like I was a god. Oddly reminiscent of the first time we had sex. Carla took the baby from him, telling Gandhi to go give her a bottle

"So you're my boyfriend," JD said happily. I groaned.

"Technically, I did promise while you were unconscious that you could use that terminology. But I am _nawt_ happy about it."

"Kiss me," he blurted. Carla giggled.

"What?" Like I was going to kiss him like this. With him in a hospital bed and one of the building's most active gossipers in the room.

"I don't think you'd kiss me if you were lying, Dr. Cox."

Well… it might be nice to hear my first name again. If a kiss was all it took.

I obliged him with a believable, yet not too intense, kiss. "Gonna wake up then, Sleeping Beauty?" I asked quietly.

JD brought a finger to his lips. "I thought… maybe you _were_ lying… I thought maybe I'd just get a kiss out of it… but you're telling the truth, aren't you?"

I looked behind me for support, only to find that Carla was gone. Damn it, how did she do that?

"Yeah. I, uh-" I cleared my throat. "I love you. If that's what you're looking for."

He smiled wide. "I think I loved you from the day we met - no, that's too cheesy, you don't like that…"

"I've been hearing that kind of thing for almost two years now, Newbie. I've learned to appreciate it." I sat next to him on the bed, draping an arm over his pillow.

"Funny," he said wistfully. "I dreamed about getting into your place for so long, and now I guess I live there."

"Honestly, I'm still shocked that hardly anything is pink," I murmured. "Not a whole lot has changed but my DVD collection and the number of hair products in the bathroom."

"I'm really happy, you know. In case you were worried about me freaking out," he piped up.

"Yeah, I got that. Really, though, you should sleep, since apparently you were eavesdropping before."

"Will you stay?"

I pulled the chair up closer to the bed, and after a moment of consideration, took his hand.

"Yeah, I'll stay."

"Good," he yawned. I rubbed my thumb back and forth over his hand. Something I'd seen other couples do but I never understood until then. The constant reminder of his existence was comforting. Even if it was only his hand. For the moment, it was good enough for me.


	4. Chapter 4

this took forever i'm a terrible person i'm sorry

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I guzzled my third cup of coffee, watching Newbie carefully. His first outing since the accident, to the coffee shop in the hospital, was really going well. Physically, at least. Kid was beating himself up for not remembering things like my favorite color. That's the kind of thing he cares about, I know, but Jesus, he's got amnesia and he only found out about - us - yesterday!

"You know, maybe you should go back to the room, get some sleep, I've got forms to fill out for you…" I muttered.

"Dr. Cox," he whined. "I've been sleeping nonstop. I'm not tired. I had to convince you to let me wear normal clothes just for this. I want to talk to you. Please?"

I leaned back. "All right," I allowed. "What do you want to talk about, then?"

"_Us,_" he gushed.

I groaned and flicked a sugar packet at him. "I can wheel you right on back to bed, you know."

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry," he said quickly, holding back giggles. "I just want to know how it happened. I thought you hated me."

"So did I, but frankly, you're too talented with your mouth for your own good."

I smirked, watching him go through a fantasy to try to figure out what exactly I meant by that. When his eyes refocused, I jumped into the story, not taking the time to listen to whatever he'd blurt out. It was an interesting one, really, to say the least.

_"Damn it, Gina!"_

_"I-I'm sorry-"_

_"You know, my condition for letting you come to that little get-together is that you would __**nawt**__ talk to me unless it is an __**emergency**__. Is __**coffee**__ an emergency?" I asked threateningly._

_"Well, you seemed pretty upset when they got it wrong last week, so…" JD answered quietly._

_Damn. Thoughtful little ass._

_I grabbed the coffee and stared him down. "All right, fine. Just… stop, Suzanna."_

_He made that little sign, like he was zipping his lips. Gandhi called from down the hallway, holding a huge white coat and stethosco - oh, please don't tell me they're doing the tall doctor thing again-_

"Wait, I made you coffee?" JD asked excitedly. "And you took it?"

"Well, I wasn't about to turn down a free cup, Newbie." He just grinned, all satisfied. "Okay, where was I…"

_"Dr. Cox?" a voice asked from behind me._

_I whipped around, faster than I meant to. Carla was standing there with a weird look that somehow managed to be confused and smug at the same time. She pointed to my face questioningly._

_"What?" I snapped._

_Carla put her hands up in surrender. "You're… making a weird face, that's all."_

_"I'm making no face. This is my face."_

_She shrugged. "You've been making that face a lot lately… mostly around Bambi."_

_I glared at her. "That is what you call complete and total irritation."_

_Carla just gave me what you might call a "knowing smile" and walked off with a chart._

_Does that woman think she knows everything? It'd been weeks or more since I'd felt any real annoyance toward the kid. But she was acting like I was in love with him or something. God._

"But you were. Right?"

"JD," I said scoldingly.

His eyes lit up at the use of his real name. "Yeah. Sorry. But can you skip to the party?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure. That party, you begged me for weeks to be invited. I said you could come as long as you didn't talk to me for a week. It was just a stupid I'm-divorced-let's-party party, but you wanted to come anyway, God knows why. I guess I'll start with when you showed up." I took a breath. "Everyone else had actually canceled. You were the only one who came. Later, you told me you convinced them not to come, to force us together. And I was an idiot and fell for it."

He laughed. "I can't believe I would do that."

"I gave you shitty patients for a week after I found out. Anyway, there's not really much to tell about the party. You sat across the room pretending not to stare at me - I noticed - and I sat on the couch pretending to watch TV. We got drunk and had really awkward sex. The next morning, you got up and brushed your teeth with my extra toothbrush and made yourself chocolate-chip pancakes like you'd been living with me all your life," I smiled a little at the memory and took a quick gulp of coffee.

JD stared at the table, looking guilty. Shit.

"What? JD, come on, it's okay you don't remember. At least you know who I am, right? You could've completely forgotten the entire hospital's existence, and then we'd really be in trouble."

He just looked up at me. With those stupid big, shiny eyes. "How could I not remember that? That's so… perfect."

I got up and walked behind him, grabbing his wheelchair handles. "You need to feel better. We're going to go make out in a supply closet."

He twisted around to look at me incredulously. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I'm in a wheelchair anyway."

"We'll make it work," I grunted. "And who's the doctor here?"

"You are," he relented. We reached the closet I had in mind; this one was bigger than the rest, and had a nice, shelfless wall to press someone against. Not that I'd planned this out. I thanked my sister's God that the hallway was empty, and I pulled Newbie out of his chair and set him on an empty shelf inside. I locked the door and stuck a few dollar bills in it - classic hospital code, whoever has to go to a less convenient closet gets to take a little cash.

I turned around to face JD. "See, your basic problem is that this doesn't feel real to you, am I right?"

He quickly shook his head, looked sideways, and then nodded slowly.

"Right. So, we're going to make out in a supply closet. You always liked it in our first few months, when we were hiding from everyone."

JD just nodded again.

"You know, if you're uncomfortable, you can just go right ahead and say so," I sighed. He shook his head and tentatively wrapped his arms behind my neck. I gently guided his legs around my waist, so I was supporting him. He leaned into me, and I had to fight the urge to, well, just rip his clothes off. But this was for him.

"Ready?" I murmured. He just smiled a little bit and touched his lips against mine very lightly. A few seconds ticked by and I applied a bit more pressure; I was rewarded with his familiar squeak. Good thing I was used to taking the lead. I slowly walked him over to the wall, running my hands through his hair. I liked it much better like that - no gel. He was getting a little braver now, pushing back with an open mouth. I grinned.

"You know, you still kiss exactly the same, if that makes you feel better," I pointed out. JD chuckled and looked at me seriously after a moment.

"Really, Dr. C - Perry - thank you for, you know, taking care of me. I'm sure it must be… weird." He smiled nervously.

"Actually, you get to come home soon. Tomorrow, if everything goes well. You injuries really weren't too bad, just your head. And since you're gonna have doctors taking care of you, uh, wherever you decide to go, you get to leave a little early."

"What do you mean, 'wherever I decide to go?' I wanna go home with you."

I grinned a lot wider than I meant to. "I just didn't want to pressure you. But of course you can come home, if you want."

"Great, I can finally be inside your apartment!" he said excitedly. "But, I actually think I do want to get some sleep now, though."

I nodded and opened the door. The cash was gone. I pulled the wheelchair just inside the closet and carefully placed Newbie into it. After I checked to see if anyone was watching, I started wheeling him back to the room.

"You know, I haven't told you yet. A little before Jordan and I split up last, we, uh, had a baby. Jack. He really misses you, Jordan said. He even calls you Daddy sometimes."

"Everyone's having babies!" he exclaimed. "All right, let's get me home."

When we reached his room, I helped him into the bed. "Okay, I really do have some forms to fill out for you," I told him. "But just give me a page if you need anything." I handed him his pager and kissed him goodbye. His eyes were drooping already, but his smile was huge. Jesus, and here I thought I'd have to make him fall in love with me again.


End file.
